What stage of the spawn are these fish ?

Not having much of a clue and stumbling about with a notion of the fish are this or the fish are that I often wonder things .
Now mind you i for sure don't know and just pitch my jig in spots that have been good to me on previous trips on previous outings over the years . This all said i know folks like to have an opinion and i love to hear them . some in these parts doubt these fish are spawning in north texas and i for one cant say for sure . These were managed around some beaver dens and willows and cattails where we have found them in the past during the spawn . they were close to the edge of the cover and about 50 50 boy and girl fish . the water seemed pretty warm to the touch to me but alas we had no graph or motor or any thing except rods and paddles and jigs with us . i would guess it was well above the 50 degree mark though and possibly touching 60 . it is a small lake at around 30 acres or so with 2 feeder creeks and tea colored clear water . it has a max depth of around 15 foot and average depths are 3 to 4 foot right off the bank with a foot or so , it is mostly enclosed with mostly rocky shore as well .
so bring on the opinions yawl .....
and have a nice day .....
and yes they made a nice bowl of fillets ....:highfive

If they ain’t spawning yet, they definitely got that twinkle in their eye!

The males are a indicator to me and they look close. When the boys get really black it's on.

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68 to 72 water temp is considered the temp for spawning, from what I have read. Those fish still look in the prespawn stage.

I was hoping for more input and opinions on these fish . I think they were very close to getting busy .

Sad to say the fish in your pics will never spawn.

Those are very close to hot grease!

Right before they do their love dance the males will have bloody tails from fanning out nests.
"gene"

Not easy to tell from the pics, but those look too firm to be near dropping. Usually they will turn color and be really mushy and fall apart when it's time to spawn.

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I kept a limit of thirty fish on Jan. 31 with a water temp of 48 degrees in Mid South Illinois. They were all females about 11 inches long. They all had eggs that were about the same development stage as those. Maybe just a little less red vain.


That tells you it is very hard to tell how close they are to laying them by that. About the only sure indicator is when the the veins are all but gone and the eggs are a light yellow color...when they are no longer a "sac" but just run out of the fish then they are just hours or days from laying them. And if you catch one like that then it was on a bed.

The thing is up to about four months before one is going to actually settle on its bed...they are going to go in and out of the bedding area and close proximity to the bedding area. So basically from that four month time period before... I am constantly fishing from the bedding area to say a hundred maybe two hundred yards from it. Each day may find the fish "in" or "out" or between. The closer they get to fanning out and then when the bed is ready ....the more you will find them "in". And then you will also catch males guarding the beds too so its not just the females.

Those fish I caught above where within ten yards or less of where I will catch more on the beds in April.They were about 4 to 6ft deep that day. The next time I went about a week later they were back "out" in 16 to 18ft of water. Now its late Feb. and I guarantee you tomorrow they may still be on either spot " out "or "in." I would be looking both places.

I would think In Texas your fish would be on the bed in March in the South and early to mid April in the North. I have caught Crappie at Kentucky Lake on the bed still holding eggs on Memorial Weekend a few years. I am thinking in any part of Texas that would be to late there for even the latest spawners. Although some of the cooler Lakes in the North in the right weather you might catch one still on the bed in late April...maybe very early May..but unlikely I would think.